O HOLY NIGHT is the 2009 Christmas CD featuring Darren Bartlett and the North York Temple Band. The tracks on this CD will include: O Holy Night, When a Child is Born, Silent Night, Close every Door & Ave Maria.

Bandmaster Glenn Barlow and the North York Temple Band (NYTB) have been turning out some interesting and enjoyable recordings in the last few years. This latest offering is a collaboration with the talented vocalist, Darren Bartlett .

This present recording is comprised mostly of Christmas songs, along with a couple that don’t fall into that category. The problem with Christmas CDs is the difficulty of coming up with a fresh approach to the carols and songs that we all know so well. However, Darren Bartlett and the NYTB have succeeded here on both fronts, thanks in no small part to new arrangements from relatively unknown composers, in the persons of bandsmen Marcus Venables, Ryan Broughton, and Andrew Poirier (the last named having recently been appointed principal trombone with Bramwell Tovey’s Vancouver Symphony Orchestra).

Also on the playlist are works by more familiar composers such as Kenneth Downie (A Great and Mighty Wonder), Goff Richards (Shepherd’s Song), and Philip Sparke (The Christmas Song). Bartlett is also featured accompanying himself on piano and backed by bass guitar and drums. He is a master of his craft, and moves between traditional, stage musical and pop styles with consummate ease. The inclusion of the North York Singing Company (the Corps’ junior choir led by Sherrilyn Hall Barlow) on several tracks, adds another dimension to the songs. The band alone is featured in several items, with Brindley Venables displaying a lovely lyrical style in his performance of the cornet solo, Ave Maria. I particularly enjoyed Marcus Venables’ transcriptions of David Clydesdale’s arrangement of the title album’s track, O Holy Night’ (a real showstopper this one!) and David Hamilton’s Carol of the Bells with its engaging Harry Potter-like glockenspiel figure. If you are in the market for a new Christmas CD this season, I recommend you put this one at the top of your list. This CD comes attractively packaged with a large and informative booklet.

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